china brick machine extruder

The load-bearing capacity of masonry structures depends on their components’ strength, being the compressive strength of the units one of the main important parameters [1], [2]. Regardless of the type and material of the unit tested, the experimental compressive strength depends on the specimen’s dimensions and the confinement produced by the friction of the press steel platens on the specimen’s bearing surfaces during the test [3]. The specimen’s dimensions and the confinement effect can have a remarkable influence on the experimental evaluation of the compressive strength. The experimental assessment of the compressive strength on solid fired clay units has always been a subject of debate, and many standards describe different specimen shapes, sizes and bearing surfaces treatments, showing an existing lack of consensus about a common procedure. In addition, available international standards and studies usually propose characterisation procedures and methodologies regardless the unit shape, form, material and manufacturing process.

Acquiring a full knowledge on the compressive strength of solid units is necessary to design adequate masonry structures as well as to evaluate existing ones. The experimental compressive strength characterisation of solid bricks is greatly affected by the stress developed on the specimen’s bearing surface during the loading test, the reduced specimen slenderness due to its small height conditioned by the brick thickness, which can vary between 40 mm and 60 mm [4], and the cross section’s aspect ratio between the length and width [5].